Hercules and the Modern Girl

First Day of School - Part 2

First Day of School - Part 2

Nattie was forced to sit back down on the front row seat, eyes upon the Lord of the Dead.

"What do you mean?" her voice was quiet but articulate, unlike Hercules. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know you."

Hades scoffed, "Are you denying it? Ah, isn't that cute? Listen, babe (May I call you babe?) I advise you to be very careful when lying to the Lord of the Dead, okay? We all know what you did. My boys may be incompetent, but they are very... descriptive when it comes to complainers, liars, and intruders."

"I didn't trespass!"

"No," Hades shook his head in agreement, "but I know that my imps dragged you downstairs, saying something about committing treason."

"I threw a rock because it bruised my toe! I didn't mean to hit Pain! It was an acci-" Nattie jumped at the sudden flare-up from the Lord of the Dead. She ducked and covered her head protectively.

"Babe," Hades's flares returned to normal, "look at me." She was too slow for his liking, which earned a harsh grip on her jaw, forcing her to look at him. "The one thing I can't stand, other than liars, is that people think they can interrupt me." He released her face once she learned the memo, continuing his rant in a casual manner. "I mean, it's bad enough to have the almighty Zeus bossing everyone around, including me! But to have a mortal disrespecting a god who is five feet taller than her?!"

"Actually, you're-"

"Nuh-uh!" he wagged his finger, "Don't even think about correcting me either!"

Nattie bit her lower lip to hold back the argument. The last thing she wanted was for this creep to burn her hair. Even though this wasn't her reality, the extreme makeover wouldn't be pretty.

"Now, where was I?" Hades pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut to think. He mumbled through the memory of his words until he reached the rock plotline. "Oh, right! My boys claimed you assaulted them with a rock, and then you stole my map." He lifted a finger, "Another thing I cannot stand - it's thieves, just when I was about to set you free because you are not dead!"

Nattie waited for the guy to finish so she could have her argument. When he sighed and gestured for her to speak, she released her lip.

"Is that what this is about? What proof do you have that I took it? You probably misplaced it!"

"It was on my desk."

"No," Nattie argued without thinking, "it was under the..." she trailed off to realize that she had been duped by the devil, who was smirking down at her with satisfaction. They both knew that the jig was up. She slapped her hands against her sides in defeat, "Fine. Fine, you win. I took the map!"

Hades chuckled.

"But it was only because I had to find my way out of that hellhole! You obviously didn't need it because you ruled that place for - what? - a thousand years?!"

"Ugh!" he rolled his eyes, "Don't remind me - oy-vey."

"Plus, I didn't deserve to be dragged downstairs, and you know it! What your imps did was kidnapping. They are whiny, and they can't take a hit like real men!"

"We can, too!" the imps argued in unison. Suddenly, their lips were zipped shut by the wave of Hades's hand.

Nattie continued addressing Hades, "What happened yesterday had nothing to do with you or your kingdom?!"

"You stole my map," Hades pressed.

"You want it back? It's my bag!" Nattie gestured her stuff up in the middle row. "You can go get it."